The Visibilty Coachhttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au
Video Marketing Strategy and ContentThu, 01 Feb 2018 07:54:57 +0000en-AUhourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.4https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/TVC_Fav-150x150.jpgThe Visibilty Coachhttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au
3232How To Be The MacGyver Of Video Confidencehttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/mcgyver-of-confidence/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/mcgyver-of-confidence/#commentsMon, 29 Jan 2018 22:20:13 +0000https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/?p=1466Are you ready to be a video superstar? Or would you still rather poke yourself in the eye with a stick? Being the MacGyver of video confidence means you use what’s at your disposal to solve a problem. You get inventive to get yourself out of your current situation (for him usually one of life […]

]]>Are you ready to be a video superstar? Or would you still rather poke yourself in the eye with a stick? Being the MacGyver of video confidence means you use what’s at your disposal to solve a problem. You get inventive to get yourself out of your current situation (for him usually one of life and death, thank goodness we’re only talking about videos), and into one where you are front and centre representing your awesome brand.

Here are my top tips for conquering those nerves and feeling fabulous about how you look and sound on camera, so you can enjoy superstar video confidence.

Being the McGyver of video confidence means you use what's at your disposal to solve a problemClick To Tweet

I regularly ask in business groups ‘what’s stopping you?’ What pops into your head that split second before you decide that, no, today is not the day for videos? I can’t go live today because… I have asked this question of thousands of female entrepreneurs, and the responses are always pretty similar. We can’t stand the way we look and sound on video, we don’t know how to do it well, and we are not sure what we would say anyway. It might be one or more of these factors that’s stopping you.

Because no-one deserve sweaty palms, and we all deserve to feel fantastic and grow our people, profile and profit!

The Audience Is Key

I’ll let you in on a secret – no amount of fancy tech or gadgets will make up for poor messaging in your videos. Once you’ve nailed your message, both for your business and individual videos, the rest is easy to learn. Loads of people have jumped on the video band wagon without a thought to what they really want and need to say, and who they are saying it to. You on the other hand are going to focus on what’s right in front of you.

I’ll let you in on a secret - no amount of fancy tech or gadgets will make up for poor messaging in your videosClick To Tweet

If you don’t know who you are talking to how will you know what to say?

The benefit to being audience focused don’t stop there. Focusing your energy and vibes outwardly to your audience is a great way to cure nerves as well. You can’t be thinking about yourself when you are truly audience focused.

So give some thought to who you want to serve? What do they need from you? What are their common questions and concerns? This will set you up with a little content plan

If you don’t know who you are talking to how will you know what to say?Click To Tweet

Plan Your Video Content

You aren’t an actor learning lines, you’re an expert in your field and your video content will show it. But what are you actually going to SAY? What would a kickass female MacGyver do? OWN your expertise! Stop hiding what you are truly good at under your handbags. Rely on it, use it, share it. It will bring you more confidence than you know.

I know it can be scary, but spending some time deciding on the outcome you’re looking for will pay dividends. Go back to the ideas you wrote down in the last section and start planning them. Pick one of the ideas and try it on for size. Is it something you can say without any effort? Do the words flow? Then do that one first.

You aren’t an actor learning lines, you’re an expert in your field and your video content will show itClick To Tweet

Planning each video is as simple as writing a few dot points that you want to say, and having a video title that describes what it’s all about.

Use Your Voice

Getting used to the sound of your own voice is critical to video confidence. No-one likes how they sound. I promise. BBC Future shared a video that explains it a little more, but essentially we hear it differently as we speak compared to hearing it back. And the cringe is real.

But it’s your best tool and it’s free. You get used to it – we’ve been listening to you for ages and haven’t run screaming for the hills or put noise cancelling headphones on, so don’t sweat it.

Saying your video intro and key points out loud is super important for sounding conversational, and to the confidence in your delivery. You don’t need a teleprompter. This is your message, your business. And you can tell when someone is relying on reading the notes on a screen just off camera. If you’re not media trained I wouldn’t recommend it.

So, back to your voice. If you don’t know what to say, start with your voice recorder on your phone. This little tool is easy to use and free. Say your introduction – now play it back – did it sound authentic, which words if any did you stumble over? Are there important words you want to include and you forgot to say them?

Write down what you want to say, or just start speaking, whichever floats your boat, then do it again, and again, and again if you have to until you feel 80% okay with it, then move on.

Prepare Your Environment

Don’t wing it. Walking the dog and going live when you’re juggling a coffee and the dog lead is not the prime time to go live or record a video. Set up some space in your office. A chair, a neutral coloured wall, a pot plant, maybe a shelf with some branded colours on it. Stuff you already have! This way you don’t have to think about it every time.

Shed some light on your lovely face, make sure you know where to look at your smartphone so you’re looking at the lens of the camera, and away you go. Bonus points to having the phone at eye level so it feels even more like we’re having a conversation.

You’ll look better on camera, and you’ll feel great about the content you create.

Bonus points to having the phone at eye level so it feels even more like we’re having a conversation.Click To Tweet

Prepare Yourself

Don’t stress over the details. Just choose and outfit you feel good in (remember most of the time we only see chest up), whack on a bit of lippy and away you go. If you like spending time getting ready with hair and makeup, then do it. If you don’t, then don’t. Be yourself.

Breath through any nerves, and start speaking. Just starting will help your confidence. I promise. A standard introduction helps enormously for this. Need more confidence tips for presenting? Read more about it here

Over To You

Now it’s you turn to put these tips into practice. You can do it. Be your own MacGyver and use what you have at your disposal to build that video confidence you need to grow your business. As they say in the classics, rip it off like a bandaid. Before you know it, you’ll feel really great about your videos. Everyone gets better, I don’t know anyone who gets worse!

If you’d like some more support, please download my free video training and tutorial that takes you through fives steps to set up for successfully implementing video marketing in your business to grow your people, profile and profit. You can grab it here.

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/mcgyver-of-confidence/feed/2How To Add Captions To Videos Four Wayshttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/add-captions-videos/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/add-captions-videos/#commentsThu, 31 Aug 2017 11:26:22 +0000https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/?p=1234The post How To Add Captions To Videos Four Ways appeared first on The Visibilty Coach.
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How To Add Captions To Your Videos

You’ve recorded it, uploaded to your computer/cloud, edited a logo animation, a transition or two – then what? How do you add captions to your videos?

YouTube and google can’t watch/index video content but they can read text, so closed caption files and video discriptions can improve the reach and views of you video content

It makes your content more accessible to a more diverse audience

With 80% of viewers watching video without sound, it’s important to add visuals to let people know what your video is about and whether they want to save it for later to listen to, or watch it now with captions or titles.

Captions can be time consuming and pretty tedious to be honest.

Following is a few ways to add video captions, and the pros and cons of each. So hopefully you can choose a method and not lose your mind along with it.

Open it in text editor or similar and read through while watching the movie to proofread it

Open youtube and add the captions file in the subtitles menu in video editor

Do the same if you are adding the file directly to Facebook (upload video to your post, then once it’s loaded, you can add a captions file – instructions here)

Video Captions: Watching paint dry, grass grow and watching kids sport all in the one packageClick To Tweet

Option 3 Using Auto-Captions in Facebook and YouTube

Some fortunate beasts have the ability to auto generate captions in Facebook. And you can also do it in YouTube.

Open the video and click to edit. The editing screen allows you to add captions. This is where you add you .srt file, but if you click “generate” like the photo on the right, the editing screen pops up. You should check each line – because you don’t want to end up publishing the one over here – FB Auto Captions Fail!

A word of warning – test it on a short amount of text and ‘save’ to see if it works. Sometimes you can’t tell if you can use this feature until you try to save something. Don’t waste 30 minutes editing the captions only to find it doesn’t save. I value the safety of your laptop…

Option 4: Key Word Titles

When I am in a super hurry and the thought of making captions makes me prefer a needle in the eye, adding keywords or headings through the video can still help the viewer, without the hours thrown away doing word for word captions. Here’s an example of one:

There are prettier software options than the titles in iMovie, but I have always just wanted to use what I already have and not learn a whole new software. Camtasia, etc etc.

BONUS option

Outsource the lot to someone else to do from start to finish. There is merit in finding an VA who can add your captions and post your videos. SO MUCH LESS WORK!

Over To You

Do you add captions to your videos? Whats you’re favourite method?

Would you like to know more about how to craft powerful video messages, set up on a budget to create high impact social videos for your business marketing and more? No more random acts of video or facebook live! Check out my workshop dates here – run in Melbourne and online, there’s bound to be one to suit you xx

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/add-captions-videos/feed/5Creating business videos on a budgethttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/videos-on-a-budget/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/videos-on-a-budget/#commentsTue, 16 May 2017 22:58:07 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=498The post Creating business videos on a budget appeared first on The Visibilty Coach.
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High Quality Videos On A Budget

It’s important to create videos on a budget so you don’t have to take out a second mortgage. You can make the most of the benefits of including video in your business marketing, and save your money for other cool stuff.

Every year for the last three years has apparently been the ‘year of video’. And there’s a reason for that>>>

Hubspot report that 45% of people watch more than an hour of Facebook or YouTube videos a week, and Twitter reports that 82% of Twitter users watch video content. Video is reaching more and more people, with YouTube growing 100% year on year, and 8 out of 10 18-49 year olds watching content on youtube (Google)*

Whichever way you look at it, video marketing is a must for your business.

*https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics

And it doesn’t have to cost the earth or your hairline – you can set up for FREE, or if you want a little more, for under $300. Use your smart phone to record high quality videos that you could be sharing with your online audience, in email marketing, on your website homepage and more – today.

In this article – I will show you how to set up with a free or low cost option to get your started creating great quality videos to showcase your personality and business message fast and faff-free.

The Equipment

The Camera.

Free Option: Your Smart Phone.

The camera in your phone is better than your webcam. With the amount of moula manufacturers such as Apple and Samsung are throwing at smart phone technology, you can understand why.

Don’t go and buy camcorder or a fancy DSLR right off the bat. You can create great quality videos with your smart phone.

Just use what you have and you can create great quality videos.

A tripod

Free Option: Prop your phone on a stack of books or similar. Make sure it’s eye level so you are speaking directly to your audience. Check it’s stable and won’t fall off part way through your recording.

Low Cost Option: Grab a selfie stick/tripod combination that works well for sitting-at-desk style videos. They are under $60. Just search “selfie tripod” and you’ll get lots of options to choose from.

A tripod is really a must for professional looking videos. You can find one at your local camera store, or online.

The main thing is to make sure you have the adaptor for your phone to attach to the top and you’re ready to go for under $150AUD.

Lights

Free Option: Natural Light or a desk lamp you already have.

Light makes a huge difference to how you look on camera. With 80% of people watching videos without sound, it makes the light even more important. You can go from anonymous interviewee on a current affair to video star with just the flick of a switch.

Better yet, save your dollars and see if you have a good source of natural light in your office space where you can stand or sit with the light facing you, and you’re good to go.

If you do choose to buy lights, check eBay and you can find studio light kits starting around the $70AUD mark. You can spend more, but I always suggest trying with the natural light first, then if you decide this video lark is ongoing, invest in some lights. That way you can record from anywhere in your work space and still have light on your lovely face.

Microphone

Free Option: The headphones that come with your smartphone

Sound can be a game changer and a deal breaker on video. Statistics say that sound is even more important than light if you want people to watch your video creations.

Do a sound test on you phone without a mic and see if you can hear any background noise, office chatter, air-conditioning and so on. If
you think you’re too hard to hear – invest in a microphone.

Shown in the collage: Headphones, A lapel mic from RODE ($60-$80AUD), a RODE Videomic Me. little directional microphone that is great if you are speaking with someone else, as it cuts out hea[s of background noise, ($80AUD). And a Blue Yeti podcast style mic (starting around $150AUD).

I find most of the time you won’t need a mic. But times you might include:

Speaking to someone else on camera

Speaking when there is noise around you (lapel mic is good for that one)

Moving around speaking at a conference or similar

A podcast

Creating videos for courses

Let’s Get Visible!

Now you have the equipment – set up in a spot with good light, and nothing too distracting in the background. Especially if you have a whiteboard covered in commercially sensitive information, or a messy bookshelf. People will spend their time trying to read it or check out your reading preferences instead of listening to your message.

It’s a good idea to find somewhere in your workspace that you can set up regularly to record. That way you don’t have to think about it each time, and it’s ready to go when you are. Think corner of boardroom next to the pot plant or nice picture on the wall. Or standing in your workspace with a simple shelf near you with branded coloured vase and flowers.

None of this will break the bank. If you work from home, most of the time you already have things that suit your brand because it’s a colour you like.

Stores such as Typo and K-Mart have tons of great decorator bits and pieces in a range of colours that suit most brands.

Your Content

Now that you’re ready to go – what are you going to say? The starting point for a video marketing strategy that works is working out what your clients need. Here’s some ideas to get you started:

Use you Frequently Asked Questions on your website as inspiration for a few short videos

Do an industry round up each Friday and send it out via social media

Interview some of the team so clients get to know who’s behind the scenes

Is there an industry trend or current concern you could answer on video?

Use regular videos to send out to team members as a way to stay in touch

If you send out a newsletter to your email list, add a video instead for some of the content

Professional vs DIY

Access to video technology has meant that anyone with a smart phone and a message can create and share videos.

There might be times when you would like something a bit sexier though, and that’s where professional video producers come in.

Times when you need to call in the professionals include:

Waking and talking

shooting video outside in multiple locations

you want a video with multiple elements such as various locations, music, professional voice over etc

Find a professional who understands or specialises in your industry, and have your message ready to go. They are the video specialists not presentation coaches.

Over to you

If you’d like to set up a video marketing strategy for your business but you’re not sure how, think about your clients, your budget, and the channels you already use for your business marketing. Video is just another element to your overall strategy, and should complement what you already do.

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/videos-on-a-budget/feed/14What To Do When Confidence Deserts You Mid-Presohttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/how-to-speak-confidently/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/how-to-speak-confidently/#commentsMon, 24 Apr 2017 21:30:03 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=499So you've got the topic, done the prep and you're ready to go. Your audience is waiting, if not with baited breath then certainly with a cuppa and expectation. And you want to speak confidently.
You feel a little excited. You have good butterflies. But then...
You're live. You freeze.
Suddenly your confidence has left you in the learch like a bad first date escaping out the loo window.

Confidence Can Be Like A Bad Boyfriend

So you’ve got the topic, done the prep and you’re ready to go. Your audience is waiting, if not with baited breath then certainly with a cuppa and expectation. And you want to speak confidently.

You feel a little excited. You have good butterflies. But then…

You’re live. You freeze.

Suddenly your confidence has left you in the learch like a bad first date escaping out the loo window.

What do you do now? How can you speak confidently when you’d rather give it all up like a bad joke?

Here are five ways to speak with confidence and put you back on the wagon while you’re live with an audience. Whether it’s a webinar, Facebook Live, or in front of a group of rabid business networkers.

Suddenly your confidence has left you in the learch like a bad first date escaping out the loo window.Click To Tweet

Remember the lag

If this is Facebook Live – remember that at the very beginning of a facebook live broadcast and throughout, there’s a lag. People don’t get the notification that you’re live for 30 seconds or so.

So once you’re live, smile at the lens so you are looking at people when the watch your video, collect your thoughts, take a breath, look at your cheat sheet if you have one, get ready…

And soldier on.

Learning how to speak confidently takes practice. The more you do this the better you'll get.Click To Tweet

Start Speaking

Talk about something. Anything. Just starting to talk and hearing your voice will shock you back into action.

Just commenting on the weather or saying hello to someone watching might be enough to get you on your way. Learning how to speak confidently takes practice – so the more you do this the better you’ll become.

A Standard Introduction

Have a standard intro like your favourite podcast.

Say something like:Hi and welcome. I’m Jenny and today I’m joining you live to talk about xyz.

Having a standard opening line that you’ve practiced a few times will give you breathing space and improve your confidence. It also helps people get used to hearing the same thing from you – adding to their confidence in you and your brand.

having a standard introduction is like wearing a comfy pair of slippersClick To Tweet

SlowDdown Cowboy

Slow down your rate of speech. It’s interesting that the more nervous and excited we are about our topic, the faster and more out of breath we get.

In a nutshell, even though I thought I was speaking terribly slowly – in slow motion, because I was sucking in air in between lines of a poem and I didn’t want everyone to know I was out of breath – it was one of the best public speaking gigs I’d ever done. It has helped me for nearly 30 years since.

The aim is to get that oxygen back to your brain and the confidence back in your attitude.Click To Tweet

Admit to Your Nerves

Admit you’re feeling nervous and then crack on.

I’ve seen a couple of first timers recently saying “full disclosure – I am quite nervous so I am going to look at my notes/have a sip of water/take a breath etc.”

People were straight onto it with supportive comments. She kept going then and didn’t mention it again, and her content was awesome.

Feeling nervous is normal. You’re putting yourself out there and people appreciate that. But there are tips to follow to stay on track so you and your awesome business message are front and centre and not you breathlessly apologising for being nervous and giving up mid message.

Even the pros suffer nerves. It's normal and shows you care. Click To Tweet

You can do this! Nervous about going live and want to practice? You can go live on your personal Facebook profile to ‘only me’ so no-one else sees it but you. Want to know how? Here’s a video tutorial (skip to 2.10 for the personal profile instructions).

Over to you

So there are the five ways to speak with confidence – do you have anything you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments if you have tried any of these tips and how they worked for you.

Need support to set up your video and live broadcast strategy? Get in touch today – I’d love to hear from you

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/how-to-speak-confidently/feed/25Create Your Video Marketing Strategy With Jennyhttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/video-marketing-strategy/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/video-marketing-strategy/#respondWed, 22 Mar 2017 07:40:54 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=505Create your video marketing strategy If you’re unsure where and when you should be posting videos or going live on Facebook you’re probably committing random acts of video marketing. Costing you time, energy and money. Deciding to add video to your overall business marketing can be scary. You might feel nervous like a bunny in […]

Create your video marketing strategy

If you’re unsure where and when you should be posting videos or going live on Facebook you’re probably committing random acts of video marketing. Costing you time, energy and money.

Deciding to add video to your overall business marketing can be scary. You might feel nervous like a bunny in the headlights. Or maybe your’e a human dynamo and you are going full steam ahead to get stuck into it.

Without a video strategy you’re like a tourist without a GPS. You need to know where you’re going – there’s always a few alternatives, and you choose the way that suits you best.

Spend some time with me this week and we’ll create your video marketing strategy together.

Seriously this is going to save you so many headaches, and leave you feeling calm and in control. Know where and when you are using video or live broadcast. And you will see your return on investment.

Click here to secure your spot in my calendar and we will arrange payment that suits you once you’re in. You get a recording of our zoom call so you can refer back to it when you need it. And a written report of the main points of your strategy.

$397 AUD and you’re on your way to making an impact, growing your profile and building your business and your bottom line.

I can’t wait to see you lovely face and your awesome business message on video.

Start A Podcast

If you have people you believe will add value to your community, a podcast can add to your visibility as well as raise your profile through the people you interview.

And the bonus is, there’s nerry a camera in site and you can stay in your jarmies if you like.

Do Video Interviews

If it’s looking at the camera or seeing yourself on the screen that’s the issue, consider doing a video interview. Similar to a podcast but a step up because people can see as well as hear you.

Body language and all that stuff makes a difference to how fast we start to like and trust someone.

A great thing about recording an interview on camera or on an internet call such as Zoom or Skype, is that neither of you have to be particularly focused on anyone else because you are speaking to each other.

Great for nervous nellies I find.

Animated Gifs Or Video Collage

A video collage might just be four short video snippets without sound or music that you can share. It looks like a photo collage but there are short videos in each square, (you can add more, or do less).

These are great if you are demonstrating steps in an exercise or a recipe, a way you show people who attended an event, or anything that would look great shared in one frame in a post on social media.

You can create gifs (a series of still shots in rapid succession so it looks like a short video) or video collage in most smartphone camera apps.

If you can’t see the mode on your camera, you might still be able to download it from the app store.

You could use an animated gif for a profile photo, a post or add to a comment in a post.

Talk to people over the phone

Jen Faulkner from Wordsymmertry.com.au said that she uses regular feedback calls or free consult time as her version of being more visible.

She gets to know more people, and get to know them better, because she is having more phone conversations. Getting to know people’s businesses, understanding their needs etc, and they also get to know her.

She isn’t ready for video or Facebook Live as yet. And that’s okay.

It suits her style and she is achieving her goals by speaking to more people.

I think this is a great place to start if you are feeling worried about “visibility” the way I talk about it the most. Video and Facebook Live is not for everyone, and I get it (#idontgetit). This is so much better than staying behind your computer and relying on emails and website copy for people to get to know you.

Slideshow ads on Facebook

Adding a short 15 second video to a Facebook Ad increases it’s click through rate and ROI. According to Digitalmarketer.com shoppers who view video are 1.8 times as likely to purchase than non-viewers. And Facebook conducted a study with Refinery29 and they found they had an 87% increase in traffic to the landing page and a 56% increase in subscription rate for those people who saw the video first. (See the rest of this article here.)

If you don’t have a video to include (because. nerves), you could use a slideshow ad made up of still shots.

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/visibility-for-introverts/feed/4Facebook Live for Beginnershttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/facebook-live-beginners/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/facebook-live-beginners/#commentsMon, 27 Feb 2017 02:47:33 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=437The post Facebook Live for Beginners appeared first on The Visibilty Coach.
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What’s it costing you not to do this?

If you’re a beginner at all this, and feeling a bit like a bunny in the headlights – Facebook Live for Beginners is the ultimate guide for you.

Facebook Newsroom reports that people watch a live video three times longer than a static pre-recorded video. And the reach for live posts is 10 times more than normal posts. For Free.

Did I mention this is free promo for your business right now?

And if you go live on your Facebook business page, which is public, you can reach a larger potential audience than just the people who like your page. For nicks, for nothing, nada.

But you’re a beginner at all this, and feeling a bit like a bunny in the headlights – Facebook Live for Beginners is the ultimate guide for you.

If you are new to this, or even if you’ve done a few live posts already, here are some things you might not be aware of that a Facebook live newbie needs to know. Get up and running sooner than later, and lose the fear of the technology.

1. There’s a lag before people know you are ‘live’

You press the blue GO LIVE button and get the 3, 2 ,1 countdown, then…..crickets. This is normal. It takes a while for people to know you are there. They’ll get a notification in the newsfeed.

It might seem awkward, but you can make small talk for a little while until people start watching.

2.This is also the case during your live broadcast.

People might comment on the things you say, but you won’t see the comment for 15-30 seconds.

This can mean one of two things:

You’ve moved on and a comment takes you back to your previous point. This happens all the time and is absolutely okay. If you are encouraging people to get involved, this is going to happen.

Wait until the comments come through which means you are saying mostly nothing while you wait. This is okay too. Especially if you are waiting on a response to a specific question.

3. You might go sideways

Android phones need to be in portrait to go live on Facebook or you will end up sideways like this.

Almost everyone I know did this at the beginning. And like a right of passage, we all made it through to the other side. People happily lol’d and said “you’re sideways Jenny.”

No biggie, seriously. Change the phone position and soldier on.

UPDATE: Some Facebook accounts on Android have been updated to allow landscape.

At the time of writing this blog when I was going to take some screen shots of me sideways, I realised my account has been updated and I can now go live in landscape. Happy days.

The main difference is how the recording looks – side bars or not.

4. It seems to be temperamental with the WiFi

You might constantly see this:

YOUR CONNECTION IS WEAK

Painful isn’t it? Solutions include:

Move to another part of the house/office where the signal is better

Go to another location altogether that has a stronger WiFi (but then you’re going live in public and that’s not always going to be the right thing to do)

Turn off the wifi on your phone and use your mobile data. Careful of the costs, and turn your wifi back on as soon as you’re done. I do this every time now, as the wifi issue was driving me crazy

5. You can do it from your desktop as well as your phone

Some lucky humans can go live from their desktop on Facebook as well as their phone. Alas I am not one of them.

This works on Google Chrome, and although it might be super convenient, it doesn’t solve the wifi issue and can be glitchy and annoying. See if you can do this from a strong wifi signal and bob’s your uncle.

6. If you want to practice like no one’s looking you can

If you want to practice using the feature you can always choose to go live on your personal profile and change the audience to ‘only me.’ This gives you a chance to dance like no one is looking.

See if your camera angle is right, the light is on your face, you’re easy to hear etc.

7. You might get interrupted

Even if you remember to press Do Not Disturb on your phone (which stops calls and texts), you’ll still get Facebook notifications, and even Messenger messages unless you turn the app notifications off too.

But DON’T stress!

Don’t worry if hubby sends you a fruity message, or your girlfriends are fond of sweary notes – no-one can see them but you. Ignore. They will go away before you know it, and your viewers didn’t even notice!

Don't worry if hubby sends you a fruity message, or your girlfriends are fond of sweary notes - no-one can see them but youClick To Tweet

8. If you don’t like the result you don’t have to post it on the page/group/profile

Even if people saw you live, and lucky them if they did, you don’t have to post it to the page permanently.

I have done this a couple of times when I felt I didn’t get my message across properly. And in one I sounded super grumpy, so I deleted and did it again.

<<<<You can delete it like this.

9. Your words might appear backwards

Don’t try to share words on a whiteboard or posters – they might be backwards.

Facebook has reported that this is because of settings on our phones, but it seems pretty universal. On investigation, SOME Facebook accounts (again, alas not mine), when you are live, click the wand icon at the top of your screen and you might see you can flip horizontally and voila! Words the right way round.

It’s because we are mostly using the forward facing camera.

After you click the magic wand on your live broadcast screen in the top right, you can then click ‘horizontal flip’ so your words are the right way round

Over to you

Facebook Live is a great FREE feature that can bring you an audience you wouldn’t otherwise have. It can connect you with people who already ‘know’ you online, but in a better way. Letting people get to know like and trust you is important for growing your business, and this is a fantastic way to do it.

Would you like to know more about how to craft powerful video messages, set up on a budget to create high impact social videos for your business marketing and more?

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/facebook-live-beginners/feed/34Help! I Didn’t Send Christmas Cards. What Now?https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/didnt-send-christmas-cards/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/didnt-send-christmas-cards/#commentsThu, 29 Dec 2016 00:29:03 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=396December Came and Went In A Flurry Did you know Christmas cards were first created to save time? (You can read more about it here). I am hopeless when it comes to sending cards to clients at the end of the year. Click To Tweet I have seriously clever copywriting friends who compose poems, send […]

I have seriously clever copywriting friends who compose poems, send witty postcards, and make sure they say thanks to all their clients for the year that was.

I don’t. Time always gets the better of me. Kids and deadlines nearly always take over

I also feel like there is a glut of messages, emails, cards and texts sent in December to say thanks. And Merry Christmas or Happy Hunnikah. A festivus for the rest of us, and so on.

So I came up with some actions I can take in early January to reconnect and say thanks to my clients from 2016, and also business connections that made a difference to me throughout the year.

Email Your List

Make sure everyone on your list gets best wishes for the new year from you, and an insight into what’s to come. Offer a strategy call to kick off the year, or your latest blog for some holiday reading.

Or simply keep it holiday focused and include your top five holiday reads.

Give Them a Shout Out on Social Media

You might be writing a blog or putting some posts up for the beginning of the year. Perhaps you could give some clients a shout out? Link to them in your blog that showcases some work you did last year. Let them know and they can share it too.

You could start a specific thread in a group or page on Facebook and give a shout out to the people who made the biggest difference to you in 2016 and give them a boost too.

Send a Card For New Year

Not as expected as a Christmas card, and a little less hectic.

If you have physical addresses I think sending a card now is a lovely option. Just saying thanks for 2016 and here’s to a successful 2017.

I think everyone likes receiving a personal hand written message. Especially in this time of texts, e-cards and group messages on Facebook pages (guilty as charged).

Ring People

I know! Am I serious? I know there are plenty of phone call averse peeps out there, but calling people in early January to say hello isn’t a bad idea.

It could be just the ticket.

You could kick off the year with a few meetings set up, or simply call to say all the best for 2017 and let me know how I can help.

Share Their Pages/Social Handles

If they are on social media, or have a great website (especially if you had a hand in creating it in 2016), share share share.

It’s lovely when someone shares our work or posts on social media. And mostly people say thanks. This gives you a chance to say hi and have a chat. Don’t do it for the sake of getting a sneaky contact in, do it because you genuinely want to say thanks.

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/didnt-send-christmas-cards/feed/1Reviewing the Year – A Practical Guide For The Over Thinkerhttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/reviewing-the-year/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/reviewing-the-year/#commentsMon, 19 Dec 2016 20:59:17 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=384Don’t Spend Time Reviewing 2016 We’re always told to reflect on the year that was. The good, the bad, and the ugly. What worked and what didn’t. Connections we made. Money we spent. Emotions we experienced. Blocks we cleared…Reviewing the year is exhausting and I haven’t even started yet. Before you delve into the year […]

We’re always told to reflect on the year that was. The good, the bad, and the ugly. What worked and what didn’t. Connections we made. Money we spent. Emotions we experienced. Blocks we cleared…Reviewing the year is exhausting and I haven’t even started yet.

Before you delve into the year that was, and fall down the rabbit hole of introspective over-thinking, read on.

I get that as business owners, it’s super important to review our time and money spent during the year, and make adjustments accordingly.

To reflect on the clients we like to work with, our most profitable products, when we’re most productive and when we should pack it in for the day.

Not to mention the errors in judgement we made, (like working without a deposit, or taking on work that didn’t feel right).

But I reckon we already know that. Most of us are pretty clear about our own business success and failures throughout the year. God knows we agonise over things publicly, in our communities online, and beat ourselves up, often to our own detriment.

Reflecting on all the things I have learnt this year, of the time wasting as well as the wins, is not always a good idea.

And here’s why.

It’s easy to wallow a little long in the self loathing or pity, to overthink the reasons, the whys and wherefores.

Here’s How to Do It Without Spending A Day

I’d rather take a more practical approach that doesn’t see me wasting half a day on things that have already happened. So I came up with this method.

That’s it. No more and no less. Then we all get to move on. To decide what we want next year and start making that happen. We’ll learn enough from those six experiences throughout the year to move our attention to the present and the near future.

Who’s with me?

Two Pats On The Back

For me one is personal and one is business.

The first one is giving in. Giving up the struggle with my 17-year-old and letting him leave school. We’d be fighting for too long. It was exhausting and getting us nowhere. And the other two were suffering. So after a sleepless Sunday night, I listened to my gut and decided to give in. What a relief. He started full-time work almost straight away and is a different kid. It has brought with it new challenges, but nothing as heart-wrenching and stressful as the lead up to that decision.

The business pat on the back is sticking to my decision to specialise.

Choosing a niche suits my personality. It is also easier, as I know exactly what I’m doing. The conversation, guest speaking ideas, blog posts.

It also helps others know who to refer to me.

People who I don’t work with but know online have referred clients and contacts to me because it’s clear to them what I do.

Two Kicks Up The Backside

Those of us prone to perfectionism or self-criticism won’t have any trouble choosing two things for this category. Keep it to two though. Don’t let yourself be too negative. This is the stuff you won’t be repeating next year. So look at it, and then let it go.

My first one is that I gave into procrastination or fear far too often this year. Although I have a fair weight of responsibility on my shoulders, I let that get to me a few too many times and didn’t achieve much for my business. Not ideal. And happily hasn’t been a problem since I made the decision to show up every day.

The kid stuff is not going to go away. I can manage that as well as build a business. I am getting up earlier, setting the intentions for the day and getting stuck into it. So when I really feel like a nothing day, such as my Netflix binge yesterday, it’s okay.

My second one is having let my health get so far away from what I want it to me. I have put on weight, lost my fitness and essentially become a couch potato at any given opportunity. I find it difficult to fit everything in. I have started doing simple yoga for my ‘desk sitting’ lower back and shoulders recently. Just following along on youtube. It’s a start.

Two Bottles Of Bubbly

This is fun. The first one is the first PayPal purchase that I have ever had. It was hardly a huge launch or anything, in fact, it was a little pathetic really, but I was still super excited to see that notification.

The second one was gaining my first small business client to create a series of videos. Scripting and coaching them. Encouraging them to get their message across. Pretty cool stuff. I’m outsourcing the editing just to make sure (don’t mind editing my own, but probably better to pay for someone else’s experience if it’s a client video!)

Over to you

What are your pats on the back? How about your kicks up the backside and your bubbly popping moments? I’d love to hear them. Feel free to share them here in the comments.

]]>https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/reviewing-the-year/feed/4How Being A Sleep Deprived Mum Helped Me Create Client Focused Contenthttps://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/client-focused-content/
https://thevisibilitycoach.com.au/client-focused-content/#respondMon, 28 Nov 2016 06:05:55 +0000http://writingworksvic.com.au/?p=348Sleep Deprivation is Torture When my middle son was a baby I genuinely tried to work out how I could wrangle things so I could be looked after. In a hospital, without my children or unhelpful husband. Not my proudest moment. Actually one of my darkest. I remember standing on the back deck on the phone […]

When my middle son was a baby I genuinely tried to work out how I could wrangle things so I could be looked after. In a hospital, without my children or unhelpful husband. Not my proudest moment. Actually one of my darkest.

I remember standing on the back deck on the phone to some sleep school or other, and hearing that there was a six week wait. Sorry, wha?? Six weeks? Are you joking, you can’t honestly think I can survive another six weeks like this.

I had a shin kicking, head banging, tantrum throwing 3 year old who did NOT want a baby brother. And the baby used me like a human dummy (and I felt like a dummy too).

A lovely little old lady in the street asked that weird question oldies ask: ‘is he a good baby?’ And I said ‘NO – actually. NO he is not a good baby, he is a bad baby’. I remember her clutching her pearls and muttering something at me before walking off, eyes averted.

What’s that got to do with client-focused content?

Good question.

A baby sleep expert asked me to write a script for her. A script for a video that will sit on her home page that sleep derived desperate mums will eyeball through bleary teary eyes. I know how they’re feeling, the challenges, catastrophes and strategies, tried and failed, that brought them to her. And I know how they’ll feel when she says she can help them. NOW.

So putting a script together for her business is not going to be a huge challenge. It’s something I am really looking forward to if she engages me to do the work. And I have heaps of other ideas for her too, because I can channel that inner sleep-deprived mum.

Another ‘Year Of Video.’

This is the ‘year of video’ (for about the third year in a row). It’s not a matter of IF you’ll use it to grow your business, but WHEN and HOW.

This is the 'year of video’ (for about the third time). It’s not a matter of IF you’ll use it to grow your business, but WHEN and HOW.Click To Tweet

One of the most common reasons businesses give for not currently using video or Facebook Live is that they don’t know what to say.

Let alone the mechanics of it, and the fact that a large percentage would rather poke themselves in the eye with a pointy stick.

When you’re stuck for content ideas, here’s what I want you to do – channel your clients’ biggest fears and challenges. Like that sleep deprived mum who many of us can relate to. From the bags under the eyes to making the choice between sleeping, eating, and showering.

Simple Brainstorming Method

Write your business down in the centre of a piece of paper and think about how your ideal client is feeling when they start looking for your solution. Desperate and overwhelmed? Out of time and frustrated? Maybe they need to tick a box for compliance. Or they’re nervous about getting something wrong. They might simply have no idea where to start. Why do they need you? Get into their hearts and minds.

Some Examples To Get You Started

Business Coaches Your content is aimed at showing me your expertise, explaining how working with you will build my business, grow my client base. And importantly – why you are the right one for me in a sea of people calling themselves coaches.

This might be about sharing specific systems you follow, apps you use, productivity tips. It might get straight to the heart of why most people running a business are not as successful as they want to be. Fear. Or maybe procrastination for some other reason. But you have the answer and you can provide it on video

Finance Specialists Your clients don’t really have a choice every quarter or year but to get their tax commitments taken care of. So they want it done with the minimum of fuss and without error.

Or maybe they rely on you to help them make the right business decisions based on the figures.

The alternative (and what they may be feeling) is the panic that sets in when you take care of finances yourself. The overwhelm. Lack of sleep over the BAS being late and receiving a fine. Tax return not done for several years and feeling sick at the thought of an audit. So for video content you could be offering:

Ideas to keep on top of finances daily, to remove the likelihood of eleventh hour BAS weeks, fines and nasty letters from the ATO.

You could create one that addresses the people directly who have let it go so long. To let them know it’s better to face the music and you’ll help them do it.

You could explain your process for getting things done right and on time.

Introduce the team so people know who’s likely to handle their financial affairs.

Oh the relief! The weight-off-shoulders moment when handing over something you don’t want to do yourself!

Fitness Professionals

People are often at breaking point with how they feel about themselves before they find you. They are looking to you for reassurance and trust that you know what you’re doing and can take them from feeling terrible to amazing and achieving goals in the near future. So imagine if I stumble across your videos or Facebook live feeds that help me get to know and trust you.

Explain the way you work and the expertise you offer.

Show them around the gym so it’s not so scary (we all know how intimidating starting at the gym can be – clearly everyone knows something I don’t, and they all look like they have their shit together)

Do a specific routine each day that people can follow along with

Deliver a daily dose of motivation to get and ge moving

And last but not least, the copywriters Oh lord don’t tell me you are going to say you’re an introvert and that’s your excuse for not being more visible and letting people know, like and trust you through video.

If you have the business and the clients you want already, then move along, nothing to see here.

But if you want your business to grow, and to be known for your area of expertise then you simply MUST share that with your online audience. A pre-recorded video doesn’t even involve another human being in your direct vicinity! And some of the best online legends we know are introverts.

So drop that old chestnut and read on. (I’m only being hard on you because I love you).

When people use a copywriter they are often thinking they can do it themselves but don’t have the time. Or they are desperate to get their website up and the content is the last thing on the to-do list. And they’ve procrastinated because they don’t know how to write about themselves and their business. Perhaps they are nervous about handing over ‘control’ to someone else for their marketing materials?

Get to the heart of why people need you and your content will flow from there. For example:

Over To You

Get stuck into it. I’ve started with a few ideas here for you – feel free to swipe and change them up to suit your needs. But the key is to put yourself in their shoes. Write as much down as you can about them before you put your content plan together.